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One was supposed to be second and came in first and one was supposed to be first and came in second but both Sandra Pupatello and Kathleen Wynne are happy with their delegate counts going into the Liberal leadership convention.

“I was just delighted, I really was,” said Pupatello, who now leads the race with 504 delegates, despite downplaying her chances ahead of voting.

“Going in you fear being the frontrunner, so I wanted to make sure I really wasn’t seen as that.”

Wynne, with 463 delegates, has the opposite problem — talked up ahead of voting but behind in the counting — but was similarly pleased.

“Our team is doing very well and I’m thrilled to be where I am,” she said.

“I’m happy to be going into the convention in second. It’s a good place to be.”

The two women now top the field and have put some distance between the four men chasing them, but are keenly aware anything can happen on the convention floor.

About 1,800 delegates were elected over the weekend through Liberal riding associations, youth clubs and university clubs. Another 500 ex-officio delegates drawn from MPPs, defeated candidates and other Liberal insiders will make up the rest of the 2,300 who will choose a replacement for Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Even Wynne has said Pupatello is ahead in the ex-officio count, so her win on the weekend has given her a big boost ahead of the Jan. 25-27 convention.

“The team just pulled out all the stops,” Pupatello said, adding having entered the race three weeks after Wynne she had to scramble to catch up.

“The whole Liberal party needs to see that I can put together a real fiery team because they know that’s what’s required if I win.

“Having started somewhat later than what was optimal, I needed to pull things out of the fire quickly.”

To Pupatello, it’s all about winning the next provincial election — something she argues she’s in the best position to do.

“I want my party to have the best leader to go up against Hudak and Horwath, end of story,” Pupatello said.

“As much as people want to talk about their policy piece that’s important to them, the still overriding question I get in every region is how are we going to win this next election?”

Being first going into a delegated convention is no guarantee of success. The last Liberal leadership vote in 1996 saw McGuinty sneak into first ahead of Kennedy, who had almost twice McGuinty’s count heading in. McGuinty stood third at the start of the marathon convention and was in fourth on some ballots before finally winning.